Mike Hawthorn - Definition and Overview

John Michael Hawthorn (April 10, 1929 - January 22, 1959) was a race car driver, born in Mexborough, Yorkshire, England.

He was the winner of the 1958 Formula One Championship. With only one win that year against four wins of Stirling Moss, he benefited from the gentlemanship of Moss at the Portuguese Grand Prix of Porto, after being disqualified for pushing his car, against the rules. Moss interceded and so Hawthorn could keep his second place in Porto, that contributed to his win in the championship only one point ahead of Moss. After winning the title, Hawthorn immediately announced his retirement from Formula One.

A matter of months later, on January 22, 1959, Hawthorn died in an automobile accident on the A3 Guildford by-pass.

In 1955, Hawthorn was the winner of the 24 hours of Le Mans race, despite being involved in the horrible crash that killed 80 spectators.